Meet Matilda, an eight year old Gypsy Vanner/Thoroughbred cross weighing in at about 1600 lbs. I've only been on her a couple of times, but I will always remember that first time with her. Well over two years ago, it was simply cantering. Not intentionally. I asked her to walk, she cantered. Trot, she cantered. Cool down, she cantered. I couldn't stop her either. All I could do was hold my seat and wait for her to stop, which she always did... until I would ask her to do something, then it was canter. I have to say that she was very kind about it. No sudden stops, gentle turns around the ring. Except for that one time that she used a tree limb growing into the ring to scrape me off her back, sort of like scraping batter off of the side of a bowl using a spatula. I landed on my feet so that one went onto the books as an "unexpected dismount".
Since I met Matilda, I have seen her break lunge lines and lunge line clips. She has pulled both of my husband's shoulders (also on the lunge) and lost him multiple times off of her back, once resulting in a compression fracture in his back the day before we flew to San Francisco. But the story of that trip is for another day.
Needless to say, there is no real love lost between Matilda and I. She is sweet, but quite a handful. To the best of my knowledge, she has been out in the pasture for about two years now. My Barn (the Barn where I am boarding a horse and take lessons - I think of it as My Barn, caps intended) has been changing around her and although she is loved and well cared for, there has been no one available to work with her. So now she is my project.
I have a wonderful Barn. A place of understanding and healing, one that has been patiently walking me through my own issues of slow learning, with an equal helping of passion for and fear of horses giving me four years of two steps forward and one to twelve steps back. Kim, the owner of My Barn, is now a mentor, teacher and friend. She has entrusted me with this horse, knowing that it will be an important learning and growing experience for both me and Matilda. I cannot wait to see how far I can take this.
I've already told you how much this intro means to me, not just for your profile of Matilda -- whose story has been mixed with mine since the beginning, when she was an equally unruly but kind 2 year old with eye cancer -- but because you are my friend in the truest sense of the word and I cannot wait to see where your journey with this giant beast goes.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm hoping to learn a WHOLE LOT from the both of you in the coming months.
But I'm still baffled about the clipped and pulled white horse photographed in the upper left corner. Who is this animal? If your training goes well does that mean you get full body clipping duties in the spring? :D